Natasha Lomas
Writer
The Latest from Natasha Lomas
Europe sets out the rules of the road for its data reuse plan
European Union lawmakers have laid out a major legislative proposal today to encourage the reuse of industrial data across the Single Market by creating a standardized framework of trusted tools and t
F3, a Stories-style Q&A app for Gen Z teens, raises $3.9M
F3, an anonymous Q&A app targeting Gen Z teens which blends a Tinder-style swipe-to-friend gamification mechanic, Stories-esque rich media responses and eye-wateringly expensive subscriptions to u
Europe’s data strategy aims to tip the scales away from big tech
Google wants to organize the world’s information but European lawmakers are in a rush to organize the local digital sphere and make Europe “the most data-empowered continent in the world&#
Gift Guide: 22 STEM toy gift ideas for every little builder
In 2020, parents and guardians are super spoilt for choice in the STEM toys gift department — which is great news in the midst of a pandemic that’s supercharging homeschooling needs. The c
Uber refused permission to dismiss 11 staff at its EMEA HQ
Uber has been refused permission to dismiss 11 people at its EMEA headquarters in Amsterdam by the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (UWV), the ride-hailing company has confirmed. The affected individua
Brexit’s data compliance burden could cost UK firms up to £1.6BN, says think tank
An analysis of the total cost to U.K. businesses if the country fails to gain an adequacy agreement from the European Commission once it leaves the bloc at the end of the year — creating barrier
Digital marketing firms file UK competition complaint against Google’s Privacy Sandbox
Google’s push to phase out third party tracking cookies — aka its ‘Privacy Sandbox’ initiative — is facing a competition challenge in Europe. A coalition of digital marke
Xesto is a foot-scanning app that simplifies shoe gifting
You wait ages for foot-scanning startups to help with the tricky fit issue that troubles online shoe shopping and then two come along at once: Launching today in time for Black Friday sprees is Xesto
Neatsy wants to reduce sneaker returns with 3D foot scans
U.S.-based startup Neatsy AI is using the iPhone’s depth-sensing FaceID selfie camera as a foot scanner to capture 3D models for predicting a comfortable sneaker fit. Its app, currently soft lau
How four European cities are embracing micromobility to drive out cars
The coronavirus pandemic is acting as a catalyst for urban transformation across Europe as city authorities grapple with how to manage urban mobility without risking citizens’ health or inviting gri
UK to invest in AI and cyber as part of major defense spending hike
The UK has announced a massive boost in defense spending — £16.5 billion ($21.8BN) over four years, the biggest such spending bump for 30 years — in what prime minister Boris Johnson has
Go Jauntly applies AI to seek scale via ‘greener’ walking routes
Unless you’ve been on very extended digital detox, you’ll have noticed algorithms don’t exactly have the greatest reputation these days, saddled as they are with pervasive questions
Apple’s IDFA gets targeted in strategic EU privacy complaints
A unique device identifier that Apple assigns to each iPhone for third parties to track users for ad targeting — aka the IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) — is itself now the target of two
Act now before Google kills us, 135-strong coalition of startups warns EU antitrust chief
A coalition of 135 startups and tech companies with services in verticals including travel, accommodation and jobs have written to the European Commission to urge antitrust action against Google ̵
Facebook loses final appeal in defamation takedown case, must remove same and similar hate posts globally
Austria’s Supreme Court has dismissed Facebook’s appeal in a long running speech takedown case — ruling it must remove references to defamatory comments made about a local politician
On-demand delivery app Glovo is spinning up a B2B logistics unit for super speedy urban delivery
Spain’s on-demand delivery app, Glovo, is gearing up to be able to deliver a much wider range of products within a 30-minute time frame by rolling out a B2B logistics play — drawing on a n
Europe puts out advice on fixing international data transfers that’s cold comfort for Facebook
Following the landmark CJEU ‘Schrems II’ ruling in July, which invalidated the four-year-old EU-US Privacy Shield, European data protection regulators have today published 38-pages of guid
Data audit of UK political parties finds laundry list of failings
In a finding that should surprise no one, an audit of how UK political parties are handling voter information has surfaced a damning lack of compliance with data protection rules across the political
Twitter could face its first GDPR penalty within days
European data protection regulators have inched toward an enforcement decision for a Twitter breach that the company publicly disclosed in 2019, after a majority of EU data supervisors agreed to back
Europe lays out antitrust case against Amazon’s use of big data
The European Commission has laid out a first set of antitrust charges against Amazon focused on its dual role as a platform for other sellers but also a retailer itself on its own platform — and